Creating web-ready images with SketchUp Pro and LayOut

As you probably know, working with LayOut (included with SketchUp Pro) is an excellent way to prepare printed documents and screen presentations with 3D models. What you might not know, is that it's also a great way to prepare images of SketchUp models for publishing on the web.

Let's start with the idea that we're building a website and need to create an "Under Construction" webpage until we are ready to launch. First lets find something in the Google 3D Warehouse that conveys the feeling of under of being "under construction." In SketchUp 7, the component browser lets us find models in the 3D Warehouse and download them directly into our document without leaving SketchUp. Here's the model I'm going to use:

After we select a model, we need to adjust its style slightly. On the web, we often don't care about the model's sky or ground color. In fact, we often don't want the sky and ground color to show up at all. We want the model to have a transparent background, making it compatible with a variety of webpage background colors.

Now for the first trick: we can prepare our SketchUp model to give LayOut a hint that we want a transparent document background. We give LayOut the hint by making the model background white. (Actually, any color will do, as long as it matches the paper color of the LayOut document.)

In the styles inspector, go to the "Default Styles" collection and select the "Engineering style." This style turns off sky and ground and makes the background white, the very same paper color found in a blank LayOut document. Like so:

Next, we'll get our model ready for the web by adding some visual texture in LayOut. Select "Send to LayOut…" from the File menu to create a new LayOut document with the construction barrel SketchUp model. Next, adjust the model size or camera angle and use the other LayOut tools for adding text or annotating the model.

Now for the second trick: open up the "Document Setup…" panel and select the "Paper" tab. Make sure that the "Print Paper Color" is turned off. This setting not only works for printing but for exporting images as well. During image export, disabling this setting tells LayOut to create a transparent background.

With all the settings in place, simply export the image in your favorite web format (PNG is a good format choice, since it supports transparency) and add it to the "Under Construction" web page. Here's an example of the original image centered on a web page with the default white background:

However, when we inevitably change our mind about the background color, the image with a transparent background doesn't require an additional export. Here's the same image on a web page with a different background color.

Images with transparent backgrounds are much more flexible when working on the web. SketchUp Pro and LayOut make creating web-ready images a very simple process. Just remember to let LayOut know you want a transparent model background by selecting a SketchUp background color that matches your LayOut paper color.

Posted by Preston Jackson, Software Engineer

New blocks available in Building Maker

The Google Building Maker geometry team has been busy adding a few more freeform blocks to enable you to model more complex roofs and generally non-rectangular shapes. This is a result of our plan to continuously enhance the capabilities of this new web-based modeling application by listening to you and developing new features based on your feedback.

Specifically we have added these two new freeform blocks:

Horizontal Freeform Block: You might be familiar with the "Vertical Freeform Block" which is very useful to model buildings that have irregular footprints, insets, or protrusions. Now, we have extended this concept by adding the horizontal version of this block. You can use it very nicely for roofs with partial cylinders, stepped flat roofs, or sawtooth shaped roofs. This new block is also ideal for modeling arches with a single block, as opposed to many different ones - this can save a lot of time. Here is a quick video to demonstrate an ideal use case in Nürnberg, Germany - 2min:



If you look closely, you will notice two little triangles near a couple of points of the block - they indicate which points are at the bottom, so that you can properly place it on top of an other block or on the ground.

Freeform Polygon: This is another very powerful block; in technical terms, it's basically an n-sided flat polygon. It is extremely handy when you're modeling irregular roofs or patch holes that are hard to do with the more regular blocks, but, be careful not to overuse it, since it will require more effort to locate it in multiple images. In general, when you're using Building Maker, try to represent a building with large simple blocks where possible - basically "block" out the building with minimum effort, then add detail and work on the irregular portions with the polygon where needed. Here is an example for Venice (which some of you have noticed, has a lot of irregular buildings due to the medieval construction) - 4min:



Again, we've introduced a small marker at a corner of the triangle - this should make it easier to keep track of how the triangle is oriented when you switch from one video to an other. Also, keep in mind that as with any freeform block, you can add points by just simply clicking on an edge.

And most importantly, have fun modeling and keep those great models coming!

Posted by Tilman Reinhardt, Building Maker Team

Tucson and Cleveland in 3D

Tucson, Arizona and Cleveland, Ohio are some of the newest cities to join the Google Earth 3D family. If you haven't checked them out recently, it may be time to take a trip (download a kml tour)! These two American cities should not be missed, as they have a little of something for everyone!

• For a warm-up: fly to Tucson, situated at the foot of the Catalina Mountains
  
• For the academic: tour the University of Arizona campus or pick up a book at The Pima County Public Library
  
• For families: the Tucson Children's Museum is filled with dinosaurs, trains, rainforests, and much more to explore

Fly to the southern shore of Lake Erie and you will find Cleveland, rich with diverse architecture and history.

• For the music lover: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, designed by I.M. Pei to overlook the great Lake Erie
• For the design buff: the Terminal Tower, designed and built in the Beaux Arts style during the height of the skyscraper boom of the 1920s
• For the sportsfan: Jacob's Field/Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians American League baseball team

What are you waiting for? Turn on the 3D Building layer in Google Earth and start exploring!

Posted by Catherine Moats, 3D Data Specialist

Featured Modelers: NilsW and Do-nuko

Google Building Maker has been a hit since its release and several individuals have been geo-modeling their cities using the new tool. With over 315 buildings in Switzerland, NilsW is rapidly filling in unbuilt areas in Zurich, Switzerland. While on the other side of the world in Sapporo, Japan, do-nuko has added over 160 buildings.

Building Maker is a recent addition to the modeling tools available from Google. It offers access to geo-accurate, oblique photographs taken by an airplane and a simple set of building blocks. It all happens via web browser: users align the blocks to the imagery and Building Maker maps the photos to the building shape, then uploads the resulting photo-textured model to the Google 3D Warehouse. Each building is then reviewed for inclusion in Google Earth. Building Maker supplements our geo-modeling tool set that already included Google SketchUp, the ideal software for creating complex, customized 3D buildings using photographs from any source.



NilsW uses all of Google's geo-modeling tools. "I've been a Google Earth user for years and I really love the 3D buildings. It's a thrill to make buildings and know that they can be seen by the whole world. The first building I made was in Zürich, where I live and work. I found the modeling process to be pretty easy because I had already been working with 3D programs, although I have to say that SketchUp is a lot more fun than those. I used the Google Earth snapshot in SketchUp to model and texture the buildings from photos I had taken around the buildings."

He saw the potential for Building Maker to help him model more buildings, more quickly. "I love Building Maker for simple buildings. I started using right away because it let's me model buildings without having to go out and take pictures. It's also easier for me to figure out the building dimensions. It's really fast, though I'd like to see more tools for making complex forms. Maybe there could be an Expert Mode in Building Maker. I am using SketchUp for complex buildings. SketchUp is great for detailed modeling work. Creating buildings is really fun and I want to be famous!" NilsW works in IT and is a photography (loves Panoramio) and architecture enthusiast.



Do-nuko also works in technology as a programmer and loves MANGA. He also started with an interest in Google Earth's 3D building layer. "I wanted to put my town in Google Earth, of course; but it seemed like an impossibly big task. That's why when I first started with Building Maker, it was a shock! I couldn't believe how fast and accurately I could model. It made me realize that modeling my town could be a reality. I have completed most of the buildings along one of our main streets (see embedded video). Working with simple buildings is really easy. If you have a little patience you can do even complicated buildings too. I want to ask the developers of Building Maker to please also add tools to make rounded roofs!"

Check out what these two master Building Makers have put together in this video, and be sure to check out their Profiles on the Google 3D Warehouse.



Posted by James Therrien, Google Geo Team

A very SketchUppy holiday

For the last couple of years, we’ve uploaded some holiday-themed SketchUp models to the Google 3D Warehouse. I thought it might be handy (for those of you who’ve found this blog only recently) to provide a recap of what’s available – you never know when you’re going to need some component-sized holiday cheer.

Santa Claus sitting down

(click the Google 3D Warehouse logo to link to the model)

Santa’s sitting (and wearing goggles) because I made him for a little sleigh-modeling competition we had in 2007. This version is "dynamic", meaning you can pose him. Click with the Interact tool to move his arms and head, and to change his belt buckle style.

We provided Santa and his reindeer (see below) and asked folks to send in designs for Santa’s sleigh. The results were inspiring.

Santa Claus standing up

(click the Google 3D Warehouse logo to link to the model)

This Santa's poseable, too. Just remember to download (or import) him directly into an existing model to maintain his "dynamic" functionality.

Reindeer in a variety of poses

(click the Google 3D Warehouse logo to link to the model)

Looking back, I’m not sure why I gave them dog’s heads. I probably should have looked at a photo of an actual reindeer while I was modeling. Live and learn. Incidentally, if you’re planning to line them up into sleigh-towing formation, this model might save you some time.

Menorah, unfinished and dynamic

(click the Google 3D Warehouse logo to link to the model)

The point of this model is that the candles are dynamic – they react when you click on them with the Interact tool. I created this last year as part of an invitation for folks to finish the menorah. This blog post tells the whole story.

Design-your-own gingerbread house

(click the Google 3D Warehouse logo to link to the model)

The above model is intentionally dull. It was meant to be a starting point for people who participated in last year’s Gingerbread House Competition (the winners were spectacular). It’s dynamic, you see – when you scale the house, the thickness and height of the walls stay constant. The instructions are watermarked into the model.

Most of the decorations below are dynamic, too; the best way to find them while you’re using SketchUp is to type gingerbread is:dynamic into the search box in your Components browser. These components need to download directly into your model to work properly.



Pinwheel Mint: Click with the Interact tool to change from green to red and back again.


Candy-Striped Pole: Use the Scale tool to adjust height and diameter. Use Interact to change color.


Wafers: Place on any surface, then use Scale to adjust length and width. Scaling adds or removes wafers as necessary. Use Interact to change colors.


Hooked Candy Cane: Nothing too exciting here. Just a plain ol’ candy cane.



Gumdrops: Use Scale to make rows longer or shorter, then use the Component Options dialog box (in the Window menu) to change colors, spacing and “Wobble” – choose “Robotic Precision”, “Close Enough” or “Too Much Eggnog”.

Happy holidays!

Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Product Evangelist

The Motor City goes 3D

A few of us on the SketchUp team either have roots in Detroit or grew up there, so we're especially happy to announce that Detroit, Michigan as been added in 3D to Google Earth. From sports venues like Joe Louis Arena (home of the Red Wings) and Comerica Park(new home of the Tigers), to great watering holes and eateries, like the The Old Shillelagh and the legendary Lafayette Coney Island - home of the world's best 2am coney dog - they are all there in 3D.



Being able to cruise through Detroit in 3D reminds us of how much history this great US city has. We're excited that users around the world will now be able to discover this city virtually, for themselves.


Posted by Chris Dizon and Steve Dapkus, Google SketchUp Team

Chattanooga aims to get on the virtual map

Last month, a small group of volunteers launched a community-wide effort, called Chattanooga 3D to put Chattanooga, Tennessee on the 3D Map. Their goal is to "Bring Chattanooga to life in Google Earth for everyone to enjoy. Architecture, attractions, businesses, streets, greenways, parks, art...whatever you want. It can be done."

The effort was organized by Karen Liwanpo, Creative Director, and Stephen Culp, Founder and Chairman at Smart Furniture, headquartered in Chattanooga. Smart Furniture was one of the early adopters of the Google 3D Warehouse. They used Google SketchUp to publish product catalogs for use by architects, interior designers, general consumers, and design enthusiasts.

Karen was aware that many people model 3D buildings for Google Earth, and she realized her familiarity with Sketchup could make it easy to do the same in Chattanooga. In the midst of one of the world's largest community visioning processes ("Chattanooga STAND"), Karen and Stephen saw an opportunity to launch Chattanooga 3D as one of the first community-inspired initiatives to emerge from STAND. And since Google SketchUp and Google Earth are tools that just about anyone can use, they were perfect for such a collaborative community effort.

While Karen was an experienced SketchUp user, she had never used the program for geo-modeling. So, she contacted us. She said, "We're holding an event next weekend, we'd like to create 3D model for Google Earth in real-time. What do we need to do to get people up to speed to model Chattanooga for Google Earth?" Next weekend? Yikes! We directed her to the plethora of online training resources, and also connected her with Chris Wilson, the director of the community modeling effort in downtown McMinnville, Tennessee. As a pioneer of community modeling for Google Earth, we thought Chris would be willing to share his learnings with Karen. And sure enough, he was - a quick call between them and Chris was arranging his schedule to provide a quick training session to the Chattanooga volunteers.

The Chattanooga volunteers are doing a great job modeling their downtown, and their models are beginning to appear in Google Earth's 3D Buildings layer. The project has garnered lots of attention, which in-turn has helped to create awareness and aid their volunteer effort. If you're interested in helping the group model their downtown, or getting some tips for your launching own effort, you can contact Karen through the Chattanooga 3D web site.




Posted by Bruce Polderman, Product Manager

The making of a sweet physical model

Remember the Design Your Dwelling competition we ran with Dwell magazine last year? The winner (in case you missed it) was a gentleman named Drew Wilgus from North Carolina. His prize included a physical model from Sweet Onion Creations, a model shop that combines 3D printing with hand-construction techniques.


The model they constructed of Drew's design is nothing less than spectacular. Better yet, they documented the process of building it and turned the footage into a great video:



Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Product Evangelist

Benvenuti a Milano

Milan, Italy in 3D is now live on Google Earth! You can take a virtual stroll in via Montenapoleone or watch the city from the top of the Duomo di Milano, walk on the ramparts of the Castello Sforzesco and check out the Stazione Centrale. You can explore these places, and more, in Google Earth. These 3D buildings and landmarks in Milan are primarily comprised of Google-generated models, but also includes some user-created models.



Whether you've never been to Milan, are a native curious to explore your city from a unique perspective or anything in between, Milan in 3D offers an incredible opportunity to visit and explore Milan in exciting new ways.

As a Google employee on the Geo team and a native of Italy I treasure the opportunity to virtually rekindle my memory of particular locations in Italy as well as plan trips and itineraries for my next visit home. Buon Viaggio!


Posted by Simone Nicolo, Google SketchUp Team

New Building Maker cities

Today we added six new cities that can be used to model with Building Maker. They are:

• Stockholm, Sweden
• Nuremberg, Germany
• Hiroshima, Japan
• Saitama, Japan
• Miami Beach, FL USA
• Orlando, FL USA

Tip: There are two methods to identify available cities in Building Maker. You can either click on a placemark icon, or use the "Available locations" drop down in the upper-right corner.

If you're not familiar with Building Maker, it's a new 3D modeling tool for adding buildings to Google Earth. It's fun to use, and an easy way to get on the 3D map. Oh, and be forewarned, it can be addictive!

Happy Modeling!

Posted by the Building Maker Team

Put your town on the 3D map: Google Model Your Town Competition

People use Google SketchUp for all sorts of things. One of them is geo-modeling – making photo-textured models of real-life buildings that appear in Google Earth. For some, geo-modeling is a hobby; they get a kick out of building something that provides a real benefit to the people in their community. Local geo-modelers are the unsung heroes of the virtual world – no longer.

Our first-ever Google Model Your Town Competition is by far the biggest 3D modeling challenge we've ever launched. It's open to just about everyone (not just students), just about everywhere in the world. Form a team, model buildings (using SketchUp or Building Maker) and upload them by the end of February 2010.



You can model as many structures as you like – which types of buildings you choose to include is entirely up to you. The important thing is that your choices say something about the character and history of your town. You can even include links to videos and photo albums in your entry; this is really more of a 3D portrait contest for communities.

If your town wins, a bunch of us from the SketchUp team will visit, throw you a party and do our best to make you look like the local hero that you are. There are other prizes, too – check out the competition website for details, and start rounding up teammates!

Here's some inspiration (just to get your creative juices flowing):



Posted by Allyson McDuffie, SketchUp for Education Program Manager, and Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Evangelist

Building blocks: 3D models with detailed facades

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

With tools like SketchUp and Building Maker, modelers around the world have been creating remarkably high-quality 3D buildings for Google Earth -- just check out any of our Featured Modelers to see the impressive work they've been doing. We've also had local governments contributing models of their entire city - like Amherst, Massachusetts and Washington, DC - through our Cities in 3D Program.

At Google, we've also been busy working on expanding our 3D coverage. Last week, we added detailed 3D models for Valencia, Spain. Many of these were Google-created models and before that, across the Atlantic, we released models in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to adding entirely new areas, we've been tinkering with ways to make richer, detailed 3D models. If you zoom into downtown Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Berkeley, or Stockton you'll now notice that our 3D coverage is now much more extensive and a lot more vibrant.

San Diego, CA

Berkeley, CA

The buildings in these five California cities now have detailed facades, meaning that you can see storefronts and architectural details like you would if you were walking down the street. We've constructed these models by using imagery from Street View, similar to the way that users can make photo-textured models in SketchUp 7.1.

With these models in Google Earth, you can go in one swoop from viewing the globe through an astronaut's eyes to virtually browsing the shops in San Francisco's Chinatown or San Diego's Gaslamp District.

Showing is always better than telling, especially for an interactive and vivid experience like this, so go explore the models in Google Earth. To kickstart your exploration, check out this video preview of what awaits you:

Posted by Christian Frueh and Manish Patel, 3D Modeling Team

May the best model win

Since we released Google Building Maker several weeks ago, we've seen a large inflow of new 3D models. Great job!

If you've been following our posts (or Tweets), you might be wondering why we're introducing new cities in Building Maker in the same locations where we have existing 3D buildings in Google Earth. It's pretty simple really, but allow me to explain.

If you explore any of the cities currently in Google Earth you'll notice that there is a blend of 3D data from multiple sources, including Google-created, contributed (by cities and local governments), and community-generated (geo-modelers using either SketchUp or Building Maker) buildings.

The Google-created buildings act as a base layer. While these models are an accurate depiction of the real world in their current form, we consider them to be a starting point upon which the geo-modeling community will update and improve them with higher quality models, with rich metadata about the buildings. I liken the "3D Buildings" layer in Google Earth to a giant 3D wiki, which, by definition, "allows visitors to easily add, remove and otherwise edit and change some available content."


Here's a couple important things to keep in mind when modeling for Google Earth:

1. Photo-textured models that meet our quality standards will automatically replace untextured models, regardless of source.

2. Photo-textured models, generated in either SketchUp or Building Maker, are reviewed against a Google-created model (if one exists), and, if it's of comparable quality and completion, we will always choose the hand-drawn model over the Google-created one.

Whether you're a new Building Maker user or an accomplished SketchUp user, the key thing to remember is that the best model should always win. Will we replace the Google-created buildings with user-generated buildings? You bet! The source of the model is irrelevant. What's important is that we're all working together to collaboratively build a virtual representation of our world.

So, keep on modeling. We look forward to seeing your creations come through the pipeline! Let's work together to create a 3D world!

Posted by Bruce Polderman, Business Product Manager

You find 'em, we'll fix 'em

We recently released SketchUp 7.1 into the wild, and a ton of you have upgraded over the last few weeks. As is often the case when a ton of folks with all different system configurations load a new version of SketchUp, we found a few undiscovered bugs that needed fixing ASAP. Today we're releasing the first maintenance release of SketchUp 7.1 out to all users. There are no new features in this release – just a bunch of bug fixes. Here are a few highlights:

The Measurements box did not always responding to input on the Mac. When a user brought focus to the Measurements box on the Mac (e.g. via clicking in it or tabbing to it), the Measurements box no longer accepted input. This issue has been fixed.

Selection/inferencing was not as precise. Previously, when picking or inferring entities, it was sometimes necessary to zoom in more in 7.1 than in previous versions of SketchUp and SketchUp could feel less snappy. Selection and inferencing should be back to feeling accurate and snappy.

Intersection inferences could no longer be found in some cases. When two faces intersected, the intersection inference was not always found unless x-ray mode was turned on. Intersection inferences should now be available again in this case.

...and here are the rest of the release notes

I recommend this update for all users; you can download and install it for free right now. Just open SketchUp and watch for the "SketchUp Update Service" pop-up dialog.

Remember: the crash reports you file when something goes catastrophically wrong are the most important tool we have for figuring out what needs fixing. Keep those crash reports coming, and we'll keep fixing SketchUp!

Posted by John Bacus, SketchUp Product Manager

New cities, new features in Building Maker

When we launched Building Maker a few short weeks ago we were unsure how everyone would respond. Given the massive influx of models we've received since it launched, one thing is clear - you like making buildings for Google Earth! If there's been a consistent request since we launched it's "more cities please!" So today we're adding eight more for your modeling enjoyment:

- Brussels, Belgium
- Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Cologne, Germany
- Dortmund, Germany
- Boston, MA, USA
- Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- San Jose, CA, USA

This release expands our city offering to three new countries: Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany. Brussels has architecture ranging from the medieval to the postmodern. Rotterdam has some of the tallest buildings in the Netherlands, as well as the famous cube houses. Largely rebuilt after World War II, Cologne mixes modern architecture with churches and landmarks from the Middle Ages. Church towers characterize the skyline of Dortmund, Germany. All told, there are some terrific (and challenging!) buildings to model.

In the United States, our list of cities continues to grow. In Boston, buildings such as the Massachusetts State House, Faneuil Hall and others along the Freedom Trail are prime examples of colonial New England architecture. Boston is also an epicenter for well known universities including Boston University, M.I.T, Radcliffe, and Harvard. Las Vegas has has some of the wildest and most unique architecture available, and should test the skills of Building Maker users. Los Angeles is the second largest city in the U.S., and the area we have added includes downtown L.A., Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the UCLA campus. Finally, San Jose will be at the center of our largest coverage area in Building Maker to date. It will now be possible to model buildings in the area stretching from Gilroy, CA to Mountain View, CA.

In addition to the exciting list of new cities available in Building Maker, we've also introduced some feature updates that may interest you. First, we've introduced a Google Earth view in Location Picker. When choosing a location, you are now able to click the "Earth" view so that you can see what buildings have already been built in the area you are modeling in order to avoid duplicated effort or to look for buildings that need improvement.

Not ready to submit your model for review? Then use the new "draft save" feature. In the save dialog under "Additional options" you can now uncheck the check box for "This building is complete and ready for review." [Note: English only] This will save a draft version of the building and will not be reviewed for inclusion in Google Earth until a completed version is saved.

Finally, we've introduced a new primitive type - the "Freeform Polygon" [English only]. As the name implies, this primitive allows you to create a polygon with any number of sides. Of the primitives offered, this is the most free form shape, but it is also the most challenging to use because it is so unconstrained. It is best used when building on top of existing blocks using the snapping feature. We recommend that you first toggle off the snapping tool, drag and constrain the points of the polygon in multiple images, and then toggle on the snapping tool to glue the points to existing blocks.

We hope you enjoy these new features and building models in these new Building Maker cities.



Posted by Spudde Childs, Software Engineer

Explore Valencia in 3D

As of today, you'll be able to see Valencia, Spain in 3D by opening Google Earth and flying down to one of the most beautiful cities in Mediterranean Spain. When you have Google Earth open, make sure the "3D Buildings" layer is checked to get the full effect. Watch the video below to see a fly-through animation of Valencia.



If you want to see some impressive buildings in Valencia, we recommend flying down to these places:

• City of Arts and Sciences (open kmz file)
  
• Plaza de Toros (open kmz file)
  
• Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral (open kmz file)

Posted by Nicole Drobeck, 3D Modeling Specialist

Learning 3D with Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp has been popular with young 3D modelers and educators for years. It opens up the world of 3D like no other application, and teachers love the fact that SketchUp is free. I recently had a chance to look over our office copies of the ModelMetricks books, which show teachers and kids how to get the most out of SketchUp. These books are written by educational technology specialist, and long-time friend of SketchUp, Bonnie Roskes of 3DVinci. The design projects are based on the idea that some concepts can be easily taught with 3D immersion. Not to mention that 3D is fun and engaging. The books work with the free download of Google SketchUp and guide you through each activity, step-by-step, toward a specific modeling result.

Kids follow instructions towards the learning objective but retain space for their own creativity. One of my favorites, "Go to Your Room!" sounds bad, but is really fun. Kids are exposed to the basics of geometry, alignment, and scale in creating a room interior but have the discovery experience of finding and filling the room with cool components from Google 3D Warehouse.
















As Bonnie notes, "activities include integration of digital images, interfacing with Google Earth, and creating puzzles and optical illusions. Kids as young as 8 can get started with the Basics Series, and the Intermediate and Advanced books can entertain all the way through high school."



Bonnie makes other resources available for students, parents and teachers on her website. She’s got books on geometry, free project guides for teachers, and a monthly project subscription. If you’re into geometry, be sure to also check out Bonnie’s free resources and projects on the Math Forum. Now, go to your room! Being grounded was never so fun.

Posted by James Therrien, Google SketchUp Team

Winners announced for Monopoly's Design Your Own Building Competition

Since the launch of the MONOPOLY City Streets game in September, millions of buildings have been built in the game. Soon after the game launched, the Monopoly team hosted the Design Your Own Building Competition with the help of Google SketchUp to create three new MONOPOLY City Streets ‘must have’ properties. They received hundreds of 3D buildings ranging in design from towers to ice cream parlors. It was amazing to see the variety of buildings submitted to the competition.

The jury selected three buildings that are now incorporated into the game. The three winning entries have been selected for their beauty, originality and for capturing the fun spirit of MONOPOLY City Streets.

The winners are:

Grand prize winner: Stairway to the Future Tower by Matthew




Second Place: Revolving Restaurant and Blimp by Zoungy




Third Place: Spiral Scraper Luxe by Brendo




If you’d like to see all of the entries, please visit the competition collection in the Google 3D Warehouse. Thank you for the entries and congratulations to the winners!

Posted by Tasha Danko, SketchUp Product Marketing Manager

Milwaukee and Indianapolis in 3D!

Today, we introduced two new 3D cities: Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Indianapolis, Indiana. Take a tour (download kml) of these new cities in Google Earth 5.



Posted by Alex Juhola, 3D Modeling Specialist

Geo-Modelers: We want to feature you!

You may have noticed that we frequently add stories about 3D modelers to our Google Earth Featured Modeler section on the Google SketchUp Blog and the Google 3D Warehouse (here's our last Featured Modeler story). These modelers have done extraordinary work and created fantastic 3D buildings for Google Earth.

If you've been geo-modeling for a while, maybe you wondered how we choose who gets featured. The honest truth is that we have a very unscientific method: we browse the 3D Warehouse, just like you. That's why we want to reach out to our blog readers to ask if you would like be considered as a Featured Google Earth Modeler. We want to hear from you, share your 3D models, and tell your story to the world! Also, if you have a friend who's a terrific modeler but may be too humble to share, poke them with a stick and get them to submit their story.

There is a simple form to get the process started. If we select your story, we will contact you, draft the story for your approval, then put it on the SketchUp Blog. Submit your story here!

Posted by James Therrien, Google Geo Team

Join the Building Maker community

If you'd like to connect with fellow Building Maker modelers, check out the additions we introduced to the product today. Click on the "Join the discussion" link to get to the Google Group for geo-modelers. We created this discussion group for people who model 3D buildings for Google Earth. It's a great source for tips, tricks, and other product support.

For example, someone else might be modeling buildings close to the ones you're modeling. In fact, they may be modeling the exact same building! You could use the Discussion Group to reach out to other users and find out if someone else is modeling nearby. With this tool, you can connect with some of the world's most enthusiastic and experienced modelers.

We also added a link, "Follow us on Twitter", which will take you to our Building Maker Twitter page. Follow us to get up-to-the-minute news about when new cities are introduced, new product features, new 3D buildings in Google Earth, featured modelers, and other news.


Posted by Bruce Polderman, Business Product Manager

Google SketchUp 7 is now available in Japanese

Google SketchUp 7 の日本語版がついに登場。バージョン 7 の新機能については、[このウェブページ]をご覧ください。

For version 7, we decided to focus on three main areas: making SketchUp easier for new modelers, simplifying the process of model sharing and collaboration and adding more tools for SketchUp Pro customers. We made changes that make everyone's life easier, and launched LayOut 2, a separate program that lets Pro users create detailed multi-page documents and presentations. Download a copy of Google SketchUp 7 in Japanese and give it a try. Happy sketching!

Posted by John Bacus, SketchUp Product Manager

Google Earth, SketchUp, and Honey did!

Recently, my wife and I realized that the plywood retaining wall keeping our backyard from sliding into the pasture behind our house had to go. She kept reminding me that I work with Google modeling tools everyday and should come up with a plan to build a replacement wall.

Honeydew (read "honey, do") turns out to be more than a melon. But she was right. Using Google Earth, I was able to get a very accurate view of the construction area and with Google SketchUp, I created a model that guided the design and construction by our contractors. The challenge was to replace the plywood with something that would last a long time and give us access to the pasture. Time, water and gravity take their toll for, sure, as you can see from the "before" picture.


An overhead view in Google Earth provided an accurate measurement of the total fence width. But I had some concerns about the actual property line because the pasture is privately owned. A very cool thing you can do with Google Earth (works great in free version or Pro) is to import electronic parcel data. Many cities and county governments provide their survey and parcel data online as a public service. Google Earth makes it easy to use. My city had my house's parcel data - which I found and loaded.


I brought the Google Earth view into SketchUp and did some initial design to get scale and sense for what was possible in the actual space. Of course, my design comps had to go through review and approval with the boss (I'll leave you to guess who that might be). Then, we worked together using SketchUp to plan the look of the fence. We wanted a nice gate to give us access to the pasture. There are some beautiful custom fences available online, but they would have cost half our budget! So instead, we "drew inspiration", a nice way of putting it, from some Google image-search results.


With the model in context, we were easily able to communicate with the contractors who bid the job. The only question they had was about the gate, since they had to have their carpenter create it. No problem, as I had constructed the gate in SketchUp to scale by simply array-copying the 2x2's and 2x5's. But, because I have the Pro version of SketchUp with LayOut, I was able to provide the carpenter with a PDF that had not only the dimensioned gate, but images of the hardware we wanted to use an an outline view of the assembly. No muss no fuss. The resulting gate was cool to see!


The contractors were great and got the job done under budget and on schedule. I may have even created some SketchUp converts. Final results are below.

Posted by James Therrien, Google Geo Team

Featured Modeler: Arrigo Silva

In the West, some of the longest-standing architecture is found in churches and cathedrals. As cities grow and evolve over time, structures come and go with the requirements of society. Through changes over centuries, though, major cities in Europe can still be recognized by their large churches. Enrico Dalbosco (Arrigo Silva, as he is known in the Google 3D Warehouse), a resident of Padua, Italy, understands why churches last and has taken up the cause of showing them off in 3D on Google Earth.



"I have devoted myself to modeling churches because I really like ancient and modern art. Through many, varied periods of time, churches have brought together the highest expressions of artistic skill and their construction has brought together the most renowned architects, sculptors and painters. I think for this reason I am not the only person who is interested in modeling churches for Google Earth and there are still a profusion of beautiful sites of all religions awaiting a modeler!"

Enrico is a retired electronic engineer and has many hobbies including music and photography. He's played classical piano since childhood and is also a fine artist working in watercolor and with ceramics (check out his ceramic buildings and landscapes). In 2007 when, surfing the Internet, he came across Google Earth and was excited to see everything there: sky, fields, roads, houses of Padova, Italy...the whole world, as he describes it.

"What was even more exciting was discovering that here and there on the Earth's surface there sprouted cities, towns, several buildings, monuments, and churches. I wondered, who made them? Was it something I could do too? So I came to discover Google SketchUp. Before that I had never used a 3D package."

Initially, Enrico thought it was necessary to fix all the edges, one by one, entering exact length but quickly discovered that SketchUp took care of scale on its own.

"SketchUp had additional surprises in store for me: in addition to being free (which is a good starting point!), the product has a completely intuitive interface that seems to anticipate what I am trying to do (split surfaces at midpoints, rotation, array-copy, group, create named groups etc.). I must say that I have a thorough knowledge of software usability because of my professional background and SketchUp has one of the best user interfaces I've seen."

In an ironic twist of fate, it was actually Enrico's work with a non-geo-located model, a bust of Beethoven, that most impacted his workflow for creating Google Earth buildings.

"A key learning for me was discovering the power of projecting textures: you can take a flat image and project it onto a complex form. I found a beautiful 3D bust of Ludwig van Beethoven in Google 3D Warehouse, and I sensed that I could 'paint' him, so I found a portrait of Beethoven. I was able to import the portrait as a texture and mold it to the contours in one fell swoop! It was a little miracle, to paint with a single command, and within seconds the countless shapes that made up the face of great musician!"


His first creations were the churches of in neighborhood and the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, which proved a challenge because of the complexity of its structure. To address the challenge, "I adopted the old method of the Roman emperors ( "divide and conquer": if you want to solve a problem, split it in several parts...) subdividing the structure into simple elements: the façade, the transept, the church towers, the domes ..." For the photo textures, Enrico searched the web and found lots of photos taken on the ground from all possible view-points. The divided (and conquered!) structural elements can be seen in the graphic below.



Modeling Western religious architecture requires an understanding of the structure of vaults and domes - the "onion dome" characteristic of Orthodox Churches can be particularly daunting.

"Indeed," says Enrico, "the primary challenge that the Cathedral of St. Basil in Moscow posed was its domes: due to their incredible variety of shapes and colors, I couldn't find a single formula to cover all of them, and so I had to adopt different strategies - smooth and relieved domes, colored and textured domes ... it took some experimenting, trial and error, but in the end I was able to create all the varied dome shapes, including the most twisted, of course, always using the well-tested Beethoven method to project textures!"

Enrico expanded his dome-modeling techniques in working on the domes of the Church of the Nativity in Suzdal.



"In this case, I adopted a more complicated strategy: I initially prepared, with SketchUp, a geometric model of each dome (onion with and stars) and then I created a screen-shot which I then projected (once more using the Beethoven method) these texture on the sectors of the “real” domes. I worked really well."

Clearly, Enrico is pushing the boundaries of what is possible and how ornate and beautiful models for Google Earth can be. It's a revelation!

Posted by James Therrien, Google Geo Team

We're awash in Building Maker models!

We didn't know what to expect when we released Google Building Maker last week. Would we hear crickets? Would we be hit by a tidal wave? Somewhere in-between? Well, the headline of this post says it all! We've been trying to find dry land in the sea of models you've created! So I guess you like the app!? Seriously, we're doing our very best to review and process these models into Google Earth as quickly as we can. Thousands of models are included in the first wave which will be visible in today's 3D buildings release, so look for yours!

If you don't see your model in the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth, there are two possibilities: It either needs some additional work on your part to meet our acceptance criteria, or, it's still in our processing pipeline. You can check the status of your models by visiting the Google 3D Warehouse, logging into your account, and looking at the bottom of the model details page. If it's been accepted, it will look like this:



We may have been overwhelmed with the volume of models but that doesn't mean that we haven't taken notice of the incredible models that have been created. We're very impressed! In fact, we've created a new Best of Building Maker collection in the 3D Warehouse to showcase your work, like this cathedral by geo-modeler chrischibuilder.



If you'd like to stay informed on the latest Building Maker news you can follow us on Twitter. We'll be posting updates when new cities are available for modeling, tips & tricks, and other product news.

Happy modeling!

Posted by Bruce Polderman, Business Product Manager

Bright idea: a LayOut case study

Clear communication of ideas and plans is an important part of the design and/or building process, regardless of the scope of the project. Mike Brightman, of See Before Building and Bright Ideas Consulting, has provided a few examples of how he used the presentation and documentation capabilities of Google SketchUp Pro to communicate with contractors, design with a client, and submit permit drawings for approval.

See his case study for more information on the problems he was trying to solve, and what he did to solve them.



"SketchUp Pro and LayOut are extremely efficient in all phases of the design process. I can generate a concept, thoroughly explore and revise my design, create design documents, generate permit drawings, and then export from SketchUp Pro to a 3D .dwg model or 2D .dwg snapshots. This work-flow gives me all of the speed and freedom of SketchUp Pro and the ability to move into the construction document phase in CAD."

Posted by Nancy Trigg, SketchUp Pro Sales Team

Design It Shelter Competition: The Winners

Earlier this year, we teamed up with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to launch the Design It: Shelter Competition. People all over the world were invited to use Google SketchUp to design small buildings and submit them for consideration. We received over 600 entries from 68 countries – the level of participation was astounding. You can check out all the entries on the Guggenheim website.

Two prizes were offered: the People's Prize and the Juried Prize. To determine the winner of the People's Prize, students from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture winnowed down the entries to a list of ten finalists. Visitors to the Guggenheim website could vote for their favorite; the shelter with the most votes won. A jury of seven experts selected the winner of the Juried Prize.

Here's a video that announces the winners and talks a little bit about them:

The People's Prize

The winner of the People's Prize is the CBS – Cork Block Shelter
by David Mares of Setúbal, Portugal

The Juried Prize

The winner of the Juried Prize is the SeaShelter
by David Eltang of Aarhus, Denmark.

Each of the winners will receive transportation to New York City for two people, accommodation for two nights, "backstage" tours of both the Guggenheim Museum and our New York Google office, and free admission to a number of other NYC museums. The Juried Prize winner will also receive a check for one thousand dollars.

Congratulations to the finalists and to the winners. Thank you to everyone who submitted a design, and thanks to everyone who voted.

Posted by Aidan Chopra, SketchUp Evangelist